Counties in Iowa by unemployment rate

Iowa County had the highest unemployment rate of 99 counties in August 2025, at 6.3%. Sioux County had the lowest, at 2%. The median was 3.3% and the figure for Iowa was 3.5%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest6.3Iowa County
Median3.399 counties
Iowa3.5History

Top 40 counties, August 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Iowa CountyIowa County: 6.3 %6.3Marshall CountyMarshall County: 5.5 %5.5Wapello CountyWapello County: 5.4 %5.4Linn CountyLinn County: 5.1 %5.1Clinton CountyClinton County: 5 %5Lee CountyLee County: 4.9 %4.9Des Moines CountyDes Moines County: 4.7 %4.7Scott CountyScott County: 4.7 %4.7Monroe CountyMonroe County: 4.6 %4.6Benton CountyBenton County: 4.5 %4.5Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 4.3 %4.3Tama CountyTama County: 4.3 %4.3Appanoose CountyAppanoose County: 4.2 %4.2Crawford CountyCrawford County: 4.2 %4.2Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.2 %4.2Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 4.1 %4.1Jones CountyJones County: 4.1 %4.1Lucas CountyLucas County: 4.1 %4.1Polk CountyPolk County: 4.1 %4.1Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 4.1 %4.1Emmet CountyEmmet County: 4 %4Louisa CountyLouisa County: 4 %4Mills CountyMills County: 4 %4Muscatine CountyMuscatine County: 4 %4Davis CountyDavis County: 3.9 %3.9Keokuk CountyKeokuk County: 3.9 %3.9Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 3.9 %3.9Clayton CountyClayton County: 3.8 %3.8Floyd CountyFloyd County: 3.8 %3.8Fremont CountyFremont County: 3.7 %3.7Jasper CountyJasper County: 3.7 %3.7Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 3.7 %3.7Webster CountyWebster County: 3.7 %3.7Dubuque CountyDubuque County: 3.6 %3.6Henry CountyHenry County: 3.6 %3.6Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 3.6 %3.6Woodbury CountyWoodbury County: 3.6 %3.6Cerro Gordo CountyCerro Gordo County: 3.5 %3.5Fayette CountyFayette County: 3.5 %3.5Guthrie CountyGuthrie County: 3.5 %3.5
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2025 (%)Change on August 2024
1Iowa County6.3+3.1 pts
2Marshall County5.50 pts
3Wapello County5.4+1.4 pts
4Linn County5.1+1.3 pts
5Clinton County5+0.5 pts
6Lee County4.9+0.1 pts
7Des Moines County4.7+0.4 pts
7Scott County4.7+0.4 pts
9Monroe County4.6+0.9 pts
10Benton County4.5+1.3 pts
11Black Hawk County4.3-0.1 pts
11Tama County4.3+0.3 pts
13Appanoose County4.2+0.3 pts
13Crawford County4.2+0.1 pts
13Jackson County4.2+0.2 pts
16Jefferson County4.10 pts
16Jones County4.1+0.3 pts
16Lucas County4.1+0.8 pts
16Polk County4.1+0.3 pts
16Pottawattamie County4.1+0.4 pts
21Emmet County4+0.3 pts
21Louisa County4+0.6 pts
21Mills County4-0.5 pts
21Muscatine County40 pts
25Davis County3.9+0.9 pts
25Keokuk County3.9+0.8 pts
25Winnebago County3.9+0.9 pts
28Clayton County3.8+0.1 pts
28Floyd County3.80 pts
30Fremont County3.7-0.2 pts
30Jasper County3.7+0.1 pts
30Van Buren County3.7+0.6 pts
30Webster County3.70 pts
34Dubuque County3.6-0.3 pts
34Henry County3.6+0.3 pts
34Pocahontas County3.60 pts
34Woodbury County3.6+0.1 pts
38Cerro Gordo County3.5+0.1 pts
38Fayette County3.5+0.1 pts
38Guthrie County3.5+0.3 pts
38Union County3.5+0.1 pts
42Buchanan County3.40 pts
42Butler County3.4+0.1 pts
42Cass County3.4+0.4 pts
42Cedar County3.4+0.2 pts
42Dallas County3.4-0.1 pts
42Humboldt County3.4+0.4 pts
42Poweshiek County3.4+0.5 pts
42Ringgold County3.4+0.3 pts
50Allamakee County3.30 pts
50Buena Vista County3.3-0.1 pts
50Franklin County3.30 pts
50Madison County3.3-0.1 pts
54Boone County3.20 pts
54Bremer County3.2-0.1 pts
54Clay County3.2-1.8 pts
54Warren County3.2+0.1 pts
58Clarke County3.1+0.1 pts
58Decatur County3.1-0.3 pts
58Greene County3.1-0.1 pts
58Grundy County3.1-0.3 pts
58Hancock County3.1+0.6 pts
58Johnson County3.1+0.3 pts
58Monona County3.1+0.3 pts
58Wayne County3.1+0.3 pts
66Calhoun County3-0.1 pts
66Dickinson County30 pts
66Hardin County30 pts
66Kossuth County30 pts
66Page County3+0.2 pts
66Sac County3-1.3 pts
66Story County3+0.1 pts
73Harrison County2.9+0.1 pts
73Howard County2.9-0.3 pts
73Ida County2.9-0.2 pts
73Marion County2.9+0.2 pts
73Mitchell County2.9-0.1 pts
73Montgomery County2.9+0.1 pts
73Shelby County2.9+0.1 pts
73Worth County2.9-1 pts
81Delaware County2.8-0.2 pts
81Mahaska County2.80 pts
81O'Brien County2.8+0.1 pts
84Hamilton County2.7-0.1 pts
84Palo Alto County2.7-0.1 pts
84Wright County2.70 pts
87Audubon County2.6+0.2 pts
87Chickasaw County2.6-0.1 pts
87Plymouth County2.6-0.2 pts
87Taylor County2.6+0.3 pts
87Washington County2.6+0.1 pts
87Winneshiek County2.6-0.2 pts
93Adams County2.5-0.2 pts
93Carroll County2.50 pts
95Adair County2.4-0.6 pts
95Cherokee County2.4+0.1 pts
95Lyon County2.4-0.1 pts
95Osceola County2.4+0.2 pts
99Sioux County2-0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Iowa by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=Iowa&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Iowa County, with 6.3% in August 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Sioux County, with 2% in August 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings